BLOG

PTC19
  • Home
  • About
  • Register
  • Sponsor
  • Programme
  • Gallery
  • Committee
  • Contact
  • Blog

Interview with Nina, Director at Navigant Life Sciences consultancy

10/25/2019

0 Comments

 
Interviewed by: Elizabeth Kaplunov (EK), who is a Health psychology PhD researcher at the University of Bath.
 
EK: How did you first here about the conference?
 
Nina: That’s a good question. I think some of our employees actually attended the conference and then mentioned it. We’ve been presenting here since 2016. I’ve done 2 of those presentations.
 
EK: Can you please tell me, what are Navigant approaches in terms of maternity leave or people having chronic illnesses or anything like that? How supportive do you find the company?
 
Nina: Actually quite supportive. I think it’s important that you have the right mentors and understanding line managers.The real telling fact for my story is that my boss doesn’t have any kids but he’s been very supportive in terms of my return to work, giving me the time to spend with my kids and then supporting me when I came back. I don’t feel my career progression has been hampered by taking time out. I think the company’s done a lot, valuing what I can contribute and what I can do well and making sure that we take advantage of that as much as possible.
 
EK: What has been the biggest difference for you between being in a smaller PhD team to working in this massive company?
 
Nina: Although we’re a big company (Navigant), actually the life sciences team has a very boutiquey feel to it. When I started we had 12 consultants in London and now there are 50. So we are a much larger team but still we’ve got a lot of autonomy in how we shape our work, how we develop our talent, how we recruit. It’s not corporate-directed, so I feel we sort of have the best of both worlds. We have the backing of a big company but at the same time we have a very entrepreneurial feel.
 
EK: That’s really important. Would you say that you feel a lot of ownership for your work?
 
Nina: Absolutely. I feel that you can really take a handle of your career and make it what you want it to be, you can shape your career. It’s not like you need to follow a defined path together with a hundred others. You can just choose the projects/types of workyou want to do.
 
EK: Are there more rules and guidelines to follow at Navigant compared to doing a PhD?
 
Nina: Yes, definitely. I think you would be hard pressed to find many other jobs in the city that are not a bit more rigorous and corporate in that way. Maybe that’s an overstatement but  businesses do have a bottom line to maintain. All they’re trying to do is create certain frameworks, which allow them to monitor performance, make sure that they’re optimising their staff so I do see the reasons why those are in place. Sometimes they’re a bit antiquated and we do work with corporate to say: “Look, this is maybe not necessary or should be improved”. But a some is also being driven by the fact that we’re a publicly traded company, so we have certain reporting that we have to do to the Wall Street etc. You just take the good with the bad, in some ways.
 
EK: Both of my parents have PhDs. They almost feel like I’m “giving up” this rigorous academic lifestyle and I should just be in research. How did you feel about that, when you were going into consulting?
 
Nina: Yes, I think that’s very real. And it doesn’t just come from your parents, it comes from your supervisor. My supervisor said “Oh, you’re going to give up life sciences”, my ex-supervisor said the same thing.
 
EK: How did you get over that?
 
Nina: I think to some extent I didn’t because I did choose a company that has this life sciences story to it, so I sort of said: “I’m still doing life sciences”. That was as much to satisfy me as it was maybe to satisfy some of the important mentors in my previous life. But at the end of the day I think it’s all about your character and what works for you and I could see that I’m different in what drives me, and the pace of work that I want to do, maybe the level of detail I want to go into etc. It’s not to say that if I went to another lab that I wouldn’t get that experience; I think there are all sorts of types of work environments in science as well. But in my situation I had an opportunity to join Navigant and consulting was something that always appealed to me. So I think I just decided that this is what works best for me...There was also an altruistic element to it, where I was basically saying that I’m just not as committed to science as my colleague sitting next to me and who am I to compete against him for a grant, he’s much more into this. I’ve got this other opportunity, and I like it.
 
EK: Would you say that your job is generally more stable that work in academia or have there been some ups and downs?
 
Nina: Yes, I think it is more stable. I think there is more uncertainty in terms of grants in science (in academia)...You have this constant pressure of having to search for the next grant, whereas I find that in the line of work that I am at the moment, there’s a lot of demand for experienced life sciences consultants. It is also one of the growing industry sectors because of the aging population and the emphasis on healthcare.
0 Comments

My write up of the event

10/25/2019

0 Comments

 
By: Elizabeth Kaplunov

This morning I woke up before 8a.m. I have no woken up that early in 4 years! Why is that, do you ask? That is because for the last 4 years I was studying for a PhD. The only thing that could convince me to get up before 10a.m. is an employment-based event. So this is why I find myself at a whole day event called “PhD to consulting” in Imperial College London along with over 280 others whose PhD journey is going to end sooner rather than later.
 
This successful event has been running since 2012, and is an opportunity for PhDs to network with researchers from different universities, as well as consultant company staff. The format is lecture based, with 15 speakers from companies of different types and sizes. The speakers are from the following consulting companies: Eradigm, GE Healthcare Partners, Newton, Navigant, McKinsey & Company, Prescient, Cambridge Healthcare Research, IBM, IQVIA, Oxentia, BTS, EY, L.E.K. and Boston Consulting Group. Some of these established companies need no introduction, whereas others are lesser known but excellent nonetheless. Below, I have written about the talks which inspired me the most.
 
  • Eradigm
Patrick is the co-founder and partner at Eradigm, a biopharma consultancy. He states that consultants bring order and insight across diverse organisations as well as highlighting that the key goal of a consultant is to cultivate trust (which is made up of credibility, reliability and intimacy but is undermined by the consultant having too large of an ego).
Patrick’s 5 tips for a PhD researcher who wants to transfer into consultancy:
  1. Communicate succinctly
  2. Sever emotional ties to research
  3. Pay attention to how knowledge is communicated (not just to the fact that you possess the knowledge)
  4. Lower your standards, good enough is fine
  5. Develop your commercial lens
 
  • GE Healthcare Partners
Laura works at GE Healthcare Partners and has attended 2 of these events in her own time as a PhD! GE Healthcare Partners are a part of the global GE company.  Their key clients are NHS, clinical commissions and governmental departments. The UK team consists of 15 consultants. The reason Laura wanted to work in consultancy is because she wanted to live the London lifestyle, and also due to the isolation during her PhD studies. Lauren also notes that consultancy is a highly competitive field, and although PhD skills are transferable, she warns new applicants not to get discouraged by rejections. Laura’s typical day includes: winning work, planning projects and delivering them, personal development, training and admin.
 
  • Newton
The speakers from Newton are called Ziedo and James. Newtoni is different from other consultancies as it is focused on implementation. This company was started in 2001 and has grown to 300 staff in 2019. The typical consultant to partner journey takes around 9 years for undergrads, with PhDs being likely to be promoted quicker. Ziedo is a PhD researcher turned consultant 6 months ago. This fresh consultant is full of praise for the 4 week induction which included doing real work which is shared with the team, as well as the company promoting an excellent work-life balance.
 
  • Navigant
Nina works at Navigant, which is a large healthcare consulting company working within highly regulated systems (as there are many industry rules to follow). Nina has been a Director for 8 years and she completed her PhD at Cambridge University. Her advice for us is to talk to people who actually do the role we’re interested in and to explore our networks (e.g. friends, friends of friends and ex colleagues). Some of the options offered by Navigant to PhDs include independent contracting work opportunities while writing up, a 3 month Associate Programme (immersion and training) which can lead to a Senior Consultant grade (full-time role).
 
  • Cambridge Healthcare Research
This consultancy was founded in 2014, and now there are over 50 people working there. Most of the clients are the top 20 pharma and biotech companies in the world.  Some of the tasks that are conducted at the company include: competitive project monitoring, deep dive and conference coverage. On 28th October 2019, the company is having a meet the team event at their office.
 
  • Blue Matter
The speaker is Magda who works as a senior consultant at this life science consultancy. The reasons Magda wanted to work in consulting are: variety of projects, intellectually stimulating work, opportunities to travel, teamwork and professional development. Tips for PhDs to prepare for the career transition towards consulting: research the company and team, take initiative by joining a consulting club or doing an internship, prepare for the interview (and prep case studies), showcase your skills by using teh STAR approach and tailoring your CV to the job/company. In this consultancy, 70% of staff have PhDs, MDs and MBAs. This company is special as it has a family feel, a collaborative culture, works with cutting edge technology and has a flat structure.
0 Comments
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Register
  • Sponsor
  • Programme
  • Gallery
  • Committee
  • Contact
  • Blog